The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has commended the sustained easing of inflation in recent months, describing it as a sign of improving macroeconomic fundamentals.
However, the Centre observes that the cost-of-living crisis remains acute, particularly for low- and middle-income households, and recommends that the next phase of reform must prioritise welfare-focused and cost-reduction measures that deliver tangible relief to citizens.
The September 2025 consumer price index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week showed that headline inflation has dropped from 20.12 per cent in August 2025 to 18.02 per cent in September.
Food inflation, which has been the biggest contributor to headline inflation, also dropped sharply from 21.87 per cent in August to 16.87 per cent in September.
CPPE, in a statement titled ‘Sustaining Nigeria’s Disinflation Trajectory and Tackling Costs Pressures’ signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said that while this disinflation trajectory is commendable, inflation levels remain high and continue to erode household purchasing power, undermine consumer confidence, and weaken real incomes.
According to the Centre, the major drivers of inflation in the country, which include insecurity, high transport costs, and climate-related disruptions, are still prevalent and continue to constrain food output.
“High fuel prices, poor road networks, and multiple levies across states inflate distribution costs,” it said.
“Unreliable electricity supply and high energy costs raise the cost of production across sectors, while continued cost escalation in housing, education, and healthcare sustains upward pressure on living costs.
“Collectively, these sectors account for almost 90 per cent of household expenditure, magnifying their impact on the overall inflation trajectory.”
To consolidate the current gains and sustain the disinflation momentum, CPPE recommends a list of strategic policy interventions, including strengthening security in farming regions to facilitate production and market access, expanding irrigation and storage infrastructure to stabilise food supply across seasons, and promoting mechanisation and input access through targeted support programmes.
Other recommendations include the rehabilitation of key federal and state transport corridors, streamlining checkpoints and eliminating informal levies on inter-state movement, and improving intermodal connectivity to reduce travel time and costs.
The Centre also called on the government to implement transitional energy support schemes for productive sectors, promote investments in renewable and off-grid power to enhance reliability, enforce efficiency in the electricity value chain to lower tariffs, and improve supply.
According to CPPE, the government should also deepen credit guarantees and concessional financing for SMEs and the real sector, strengthen the development finance institutions’ role in channeling funds to productive enterprises, simplify international trade processes and eliminate multiple agency checkpoints, digitise clearance procedures to reduce time and costs, harmonise port charges and enforce transparency in the port value chain, maintain exchange rate stability through credible market-based mechanisms, and strengthen coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to prevent policy contradictions while guarding against fiscal slippages that could reignite inflationary pressures.
It noted that business confidence is rising, but consumer confidence remains fragile. “Policies that enhance productivity, stabilise prices, and reduce the structural cost of doing business will not only strengthen the disinflation trajectory but also foster inclusive and sustainable economic recovery,” it said, adding, “With consistency, coordination, and structural reforms, Nigeria can achieve a stable single-digit inflation rate over the medium term — anchoring growth, improving welfare, and restoring confidence in the economy.”
